Whether flipping through a woman’s fashion magazine, watching ads on television or being subjected to advertisements on buses, billboards and the backs of cereal boxes, one thing is for certain: the depicted representations of real people are anything but real. In particular, the depictions of women and girls are alarmingly unrealistic. Whitened teeth, thicker and shinier hair, slimmer waists and thighs, elongated legs and arms, and fuller chests have come to be common and standard retouching practices in advertising. Where does this leave regular, everyday women? What kind of message is being sent to young females when the pictures of even the most attractive celebrities go through intensive air-brushing before they are featured in a popular magazine?
Whether flipping through a woman’s fashion magazine, watching ads on television or being subjected to advertisements on buses, billboards and the backs of cereal boxes, one thing is for certain: the depicted representations of real people are anything but real. In particular, the depictions of women and girls are alarmingly unrealistic. Whitened teeth, thicker and shinier hair, slimmer waists and thighs, elongated legs and arms, and fuller chests have come to be common and standard retouching practices in advertising. Where does this leave regular, everyday women? What kind of message is being sent to young females when the pictures of even the most attractive celebrities go through intensive air-brushing before they are featured in a popular magazine?